Month: February 2013

Wine isn’t used just for drinking in France; it is used in cookery, including the famous braised-beef dish boeuf bourguignon. Marinating and cooking meat in Burgundy wine makes it very tender, with a robust flavour.

In the U.S., you may wish to keep a five-litre box of Almaden Mountain Burgundy (available at Sam’s and elsewhere for between 12 and 15 USD) in the kitchen for cooking. This way, a whole bottle of Burgundy, which can be expensive, doesn’t need to be opened when you just wish to add a half-cup of it to your dish. The wine is protected in an air-free vessel inside the box, and is always at-hand for occasional use in cookery. Wine on-tap on top of the refrigerator is a great boon to any creative home-cook.

Photos from the New York Post: “Best Dressed at Fashion Week”How can you even consider them DRESSED? Women who wear sandals in snow, sleeveless dresses and hot-pants in winter, bare legs and bulging veins, shoes without stockings; men whose trousers puddle at their shoes–how sick are they, really? I would hate to see the “worst-dressed”!!!!

Celery, Cucumber, Parsley, Broccoli, Jalapeño Pepper, Ginger, Green Tea, Yoghurt, and Lemon are Blended to Make a Delicious, Elegant Winter-Health Smoothie (omit yoghurt if you are a vegan or following the macrobiotic regimen.) Click Here to Read M-J’s Main Website, Elegant Survival

“Green tea is known to contain antiviral components that prevent influenza infection,” wrote Hiroshi Yamada, MD, PhD, of the University of Shizuoka, Japan.

Yamada and his colleagues analyzed questionnaires from 2,050 students, ages six to 13 years, in elementary schools in Kikugawa City. The questionnaires included information about their consumption of green tea.

“Green tea is known to contain antiviral components that prevent influenza infection,” wrote Hiroshi Yamada, MD, PhD, of the University of Shizuoka, Japan.

Yamada and his colleagues analyzed questionnaires from 2,050 students, ages six to 13 years, in elementary schools in Kikugawa City. The questionnaires included information about their consumption of green tea.

Carrots, Onions, Ginger and Peppers Sautéed and Served with Rice: a Cold-Fighting Luncheon Dish

I once cured my husband, who has been malarial since his operations in Africa, of a devastating cold/cough/fever/flu. I fed him sliced ginger in honey a few times a day, cayenne capsules, various herbal tisanes, aspirin and Theraflu. Whenever we get a hint of a tickle in our throats, or wake up with a full-fledged sore throat, we gargle with salt, take Zicam, Airborne in a glass of water, and eat a lot of ginger. Neither of us has had a cold since that aforementioned worrisome time. A trip to the doctor will do no good for the common cold. We would never dream of plugging up the already-jammed waiting rooms for such a malady, and antibiotics do nothing for viruses. Even Tamiflu only shortens the duration of influenza by a day or so. Here is a well-known trick to ward off a nascent cold:put hydrogen peroxide in the ears. If one is not averse to sugar, keeping a jar full of candied ginger is a good idea. That way, you can pop a piece whenever you feel a bit down. A better way to ingest ginger is to slice it fresh and mix it with honey, another a germ-killer. Is ginger a panacea? No, but it certainly enhances general health, as do hot peppers, because they create an environment in which viruses seldom thrive. Raw garlic works, you say? It may make you well, but it will make your friends sick. Remember to have salt, honey, ginger, hydrogen peroxide and red pepper in the pantry during this winter to stuff a cold or influenza infection in its beginning stages, so that you can get well sooner.

It has been determined that gargling with salt-water reduces one’s risk of acquiring colds and flu by 40%.

Dissolve a teaspoon of salt in six ounces of warm water and gargle a couple of times per day after a sore throat begins, or when you believe you have been exposed to rhinovirus and/or influenza. Gargling with salt will soothe a sore throat by drawing-out moisture, thereby taking down swelling. ~M-J de Mesterton

Salt and Health

(from The Salt Institute–edited by M-J for clarity)

Salt is essential not only to life, but to good health. It’s always been that way. Human blood contains 0.9% salt (sodium chloride) — the same concentration as found in United States Pharmacopaeia (USP) sodium chloride irrigant commonly used to cleanse wounds. Salt maintains the electrolyte balance inside…

I soak some day-old home-made bread in milk, cream, a dash of salt, cinnamon and sweetener for a half-minute, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then bake it on a buttered baking sheet in a low oven (250*) until lightly browned and dry. Let it sit overnight in the oven for a real crunch. Optionally, you can remove the toast after baking it for an hour, and re-coat it in the milk, cream and cinnamon batter, sprinkle it again with cinnamon and sugar, then bake again for as long as you believe necessary. This toast is usually dunked into coffee, as it is meant to be very crunchy.

Democrats seem awfully cocky lately. Since winning the House in November and forcing Trump’s hand on the shutdown, they feel like they’re on a glide path to 2020. Every other day, it’s a litany of smugness from the Resistance. At 21 months out from the election, of course, they are practically calling the race already. They hope […] The post Laura Ingraham: […]

In a scene you likely did not see on one of your local or national newscasts, the White House on Wednesday announced a bold plan to change the lives in America of some of our poorest citizens, those who live in the most distressed, and sometimes the most dangerous, neighborhoods. Flanked by Sen. Tim Scott […] The post The President’s Successes, in Black and […]

Congressmen and senators are supposed to be fighting for the American people, their constituents. But when Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer pounced on the president at the Oval Office on Tuesday, for whom exactly were they fighting? Both the Senate and the House oath of offices are nearly identical. They begin like this: “I do […] The post Democrats Deny These […]

Michelle Obama is rolling out her new memoir titled “Becoming” with exactly the sort of fanfare we’ve come to expect from the Obamas’ 13-city book tour and touchy-feeling arena interviews by celebrity moderators. Monday, the former first lady gave a pre-launch sit down with “GMA’s” Robin Roberts. And the issue of race figured prominently, even […] The post M […]

You would have thought that the “political experts” who failed to understand, let alone predict, the rise of Donald Trump in 2016 might have learned something by now. They haven’t. While they obsess over silly side issues that do not concern most Americans, President Trump has been methodically making stunning progress in his pledge to […] The post Laura Ing […]